Nearly two full years after the promotion’s debut event, Ares Fighting Championship is gearing up for its return.
Led by MMA Factory Paris head coach Fernand Lopez, Ares FC 2 is set for Dec. 11 at Palais des sports Marcel-Cerdan in Paris. The card will stream via Gigson Live.
In the night’s main event, Frenchman Taylor Lapilus takes on 14-year veteran Wilson Reis.
Lapilus was released from the UFC following a 3-1 run with the promotion and is now hoping to make his way back to the sport’s leading organization. “Double Impact” has gone 5-1 outside of the octagon, including wins over big-show veterans Nate Maness and Josh Hill.
Meanwhile, Reis is longtime veteran who fought 13 times under the UFC banner, including a failed bid for the promotions’ flyweight title against then-champ Demetrious Johnson in 2017. Reis’ UFC run ended in 2019, and he’s gone 1-1 in two appearances since.
ARES FC’s debut event took place in December 2019 and featured the likes of Josh Parisian and Nassourdine Imavov, who would go on to compete in the UFC, as well as Oumar Kane, better known as “Reug Reug.”
However, the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the organization’s follow-up event. Now the company is prepped for a restart.
The Ares FC 2 lineup include:
- Taylor Lapilus vs. Wilson Reis
- Thibault Gouti vs. Emil Meek
- Abdoul Abdouraguimov vs. Alex Lohore
- Ian Entwistle vs. Daguir Imavov
- Hassan N’Dam vs. Jimmy Vienot
- Cherif Drame vs. Akhmed Salamov
- Temerlan Azizov vs. Patrik Martinik